WATER QUALITY--Measurement and Use of Diversity Indices for Biological Samples
In Reply Refer To: April 16, 1985
WGS-Mail Stop 412
QUALITY OF WATER BRANCH TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM NO. 85.10
Subject: WATER QUALITY--Measurement and Use of Diversity
Indices for Biological Samples
Enclosed for your information is a restatement of Quality of
Water Branch Technical Memorandum No. 82.07. Please note
especially equation 4, (page 5) for the calculation of Hmax.
This equation was in error in memorandum 82.07 and has now
been corrected. We thank Jurate Landwehr, Northeastern
Region Research, for bringing this problem to our attention.
Changes in biological communities caused by natural or
anthropogenic stress are often of interest in water-quality
studies. Diversity indices have been among the most widely
used methods for identifying changes in aquatic community
structure. The use of indices to summarize large amounts of
species-abundance information is still undergoing
development, but the content of Quality of Water Branch
Technical Memorandum No. 82.07 (February 10, 1982) remains
relevant. A recent review (Washington, H. G., 1984,
Diversity, biotic and similarity indices: A review with
special relevance to aquatic ecosystems: Water Research,
v. 18, no. 6, p. 653-694) provides a state-of-the-art
discussion of the subject; a number of different diversity
indices as well as biotic and similarity indices are examined
for their applicability to aquatic ecosystems.
David A. Rickert
Acting Chief, Quality of Water Branch
Attachment
WRD Distribution: A, B, FO-LS, PO
This memorandum supersedes Quality of Water Branch Technical
Memorandum No. 82.07